On this day: June 6

June 6: Ramadan begins (Islam, 2016); Queen's Official Birthday in New Zealand (2016); Western Australia Day (2016)

Novarupta's lava dome

• 1862 – American Civil War: The Union Army's victory in the First Battle of Memphis virtually eradicated the Confederate naval presence on the Mississippi River.
• 1882 – The Shewa kingdom made big strides towards gaining supremacy over the Ethiopian Empire by defeating the Gojjam and gaining control of territories south of the Gibe River.
• 1912 – The largest eruption of the 20th century created the Novarupta volcano (pictured) in the Alaska Peninsula, US.
• 1982 – A war in Lebanon began when Israeli forces invaded southern Lebanon to root out members of the Palestine Liberation Organization.
• 2004 – During a joint sitting of both houses of the Indian Parliament, President A. P. J. Abdul Kalam announced that Tamil was to be made the first legally recognised classical language of India.

• More anniversaries:
  • June 5
  • June 6
  • June 7

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• Current date: June 6, 2016 (UTC)
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